


You're Smarter Than You Think

by Incoherentbabblings



Series: Tumblr Ask Game Prompts [29]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: College, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Kissing, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Romance, Stress Relief, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incoherentbabblings/pseuds/Incoherentbabblings
Summary: Stressed from an ongoing case, Stephanie gets a bad grade from Gotham U and has a small freak out. Seeing a potential straw that breaks the camel's back situation, Tim is a good boyfriend.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake
Series: Tumblr Ask Game Prompts [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1970230
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	You're Smarter Than You Think

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt:
> 
> _When One Person’s Face Is Scrunched Up, And the Other One Kisses Their Lips/Nose/Forehead_

Tim and Stephanie had been working on a case for over a month. It had consumed their days and nights, leaving little time for much else, let alone college. Stephanie had been moaning about stress just a couple of days prior, finding the pull between Stephanie Brown and Batgirl difficult that month, but it wasn’t until 7pm on a Friday night when the cracks turned to canyons in her wellbeing. Her tablet pinged, notifying her that an assignment had been graded. Tim, who was working on deconstructing a poisonous molecule, allowed her to drift away to check on college student Stephanie’s life. Her quiet curse was not enough to make him turn away from work, however her sudden screech of anguish gave him pause.

“I’m going to fail.” Stephanie sobbed, slapping down her tablet on the chair next to her own. “A D! I got a _D_! Tim, I might as well have not handed the report in!”

Red Robin turned, seeing Stephanie look miserable. Glancing back at his molecular analysis, he set it aside for the moment, and turned around properly to give Steph his undivided attention.

“It’s just one grade,” he tried.

“Easy for you to say. You’ve never gotten less than a B in your life, have you?”

“You are _not_ stupid. You were probably just a bit overworked when you submitted the essay.”

“I’m a big dummy,” she sniffed, looking positively miserable. “Useless, stupid girl in over her head.”

“Woah, _okay_. That’s enough. This is more than a bad grade isn’t it?” Tim got up to kneel in front of Stephanie, who was looking damp eyed and wretched. Curling up into a ball, she hid from his gaze.

“Let me have my tantrum.”

Incredulous, Tim laughed, “No way. Stephanie Brown doesn’t throw tantrums.”

“She absolutely does.”

Tim could only look at her with affection. “Big baby.”

Even in her ball, Tim saw Steph nod. He took off his gloves, and his fingers crept up to hold one of her arms that was wrapped around her legs. “What can I do to fix it? Besides cheating and altering your grade online?”

“Get a new girlfriend.”

“Hmm. Tried that. Didn’t match up to the original.” His dry joke did not work and her shoulders shook with very real sobs. Swallowing dryly, Tim tugged at her arm. “Steph? Steph please don’t cry.”

Reddened blue eyes peered down at Tim, fat tears slipping down. Breath stuttering, heart jerking, and his own eyes feeling damp in empathy, Tim moved to pick her up.

Her grip on his shoulders was almost painful, but Tim was glad she was clinging to him so tightly. He wouldn’t let her psyche herself out from such a good place, even after one (small in the grand scheme of things) slip up.

He sat himself in the chair, Steph strewn across his lap. She buried her head into the crook of his neck and continued to cry. Tim let her do so until she tired herself out.

When she quietened, he asked, “Do you really think I can do better than you?”

“Oh, don’t start,” Stephanie sniffed. “You know you can.”

“Define better.”

“More patient, better cook…

“I don’t want to date my mother Steph.”

He managed to make her chuckle, if only for a moment, then her expression returned to pain. She looked almost grief stricken.

“Someone who can keep up with your science and tech. Someone less loud and histrionic. Someone who your friends and family like.”

“Bruce _loves_ you. Sometimes more than me it feels like. And my friends don’t know you that well. That’s not the same.”

“…Frightened,” she admitted.

“Of disapproval?”

“Not being good enough. For you. For the city. For Batgirl. For college even. It all catches up with me.”

Tim shunted her around a little so he could look her dead in the eye. Carefully, methodically, he pressed a kiss to her wrinkled forehead. It was warm, and it made Steph shiver and tighten her grip on him. Tim’s breath, smelling of those cherry cola sweets he was so fond of, washed over her. He then kissed the space between her eyebrows, then as her eyes flickered shut, he kissed her twice for each eye, then her nose, then her cheeks, then her mouth. He didn’t miss her whimper when he broke away.

She blinked, eyelashes wet still, and looked downwards, ashamed.

“I’m sorry Tim.”

“For what? Being sad?” Stroking her blonde hair, Tim pressed her closer against him. She groused, uncomfortable with his deliberate obtuseness but enjoying the warmth. “Call me a hypocrite, but keep things in perspective. It’s just one bad grade. You are more than enough. More than good.”

Stephanie sighed, grumpily eyeing her tablet with its bad news. “I still think you can do better.”

“Absolutely not,” Tim said, tone light and matter of fact. “I had spent nearly a year of my life thinking about how I could get you back. You really think I’ll let you slip away again? ‘Cause you got a D? Like, _oh Steph, you know what, I’ve decided that’s the breaking point_. No way.”

“Delusional…”

“Hmm. Someone’s delusional alright.”

Steph smiled, but it was a miserable smile that quickly melted back into sadness, and more tears slipped down her cheeks. Tim kissed them away. Upstairs they both heard the grandfather clock giving way for the rest of the family, coming down to get started with patrol.

Feeling Stephanie tense up, embarrassed to be seen like this, Tim whispered, “Want me to kidnap you?” Shaking fingers wrapped around the straps of his uniform, and Tim made up his mind, picking her up. “Yeah, yeah. We can take a break. The others can pick this up. We'll take maybe a week? Maybe a bit more. Recharge and get some perspective. C’mon.”

“Love you.”

“Love you more. Gonna prove it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on the 17th of September 2020.


End file.
